Anthcing and intake means for turbine-propeller units



A. G. ELLIOTT Feb. 9, 1954 .ANTIICING AND INTAKE MEANS FOR TURBINE PROPELLER UNITS Filed June 29, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l A. G. ELLIOTT Feb. 9, 1954 ANTIICING AND INTAKE MEANS FOR TURBINE PROPELLER UNITS Filed June 29, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l w\ 7 MJ w w n.. M 6..

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Feb. 9, 1954 A. G. ELLIQTT 2,668,596

ANTIICING AND INTAKE MEANS FOR TURBINE PROPELLER UNITS Filed June 29, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A X v /NVE/Vr maar s'. .aL/arr Patented Feb. 9, 1954 Albert George Elliott, Quarndon, England, 'as'- .signor to Rotol Limited, Gloucester, England,

a British company Appli-cation June 29, 194s, serai Nt. 'cati-fs Claims priority, application Great Britain July 4, 1947 s oiaims. (o1. 17o-istat) This invention relates to aircraft gas-turbineengine power plants of the type comprising an airscrew or propeller (which term` includes a ducted fan) driven by the gas-turbine-engine.

Such a power plant normally comprises a compressor which delivers air to combustion equipment in which fuel is burnt and from which the combustion gases pass to a turbine to drive it. rThe turbine drives through a shaft or shafts the compressor and an airscrew or airscrews located either in front of the air intake ductrto the compressor or towards the inlet end of the duct. In the latter case, an airscrew carries an outer annular fairing constituting with the airscrew spinner a forward, rotating extension of a stationary portion of the airintake duct.

This invention has for object to reduce the possibility of ice-formation at the inlet to the compressor, and on compressor parts. K

According to this invention, a power plant of the type referred to comprises means to deliver hot 'gas to a structurerotating `with an airscrew which structure providesa duct for the hot gas, and is formed with outlets to deliver the hot gas into the air intake duct to the compressor.

According to a feature of lthis invention, the hot gas is delivered to a stationary manifold located adjacent the forward end of the `stationary portion of the air intake duct, through openings in this manifold to an adjacent rotating manifold which is carried by an airscrew and is then delivered from the rotating manifold through suitably located outlets into the air intake duct.

in one such arrangement', the stationary manifold is in the form of a hollow annulus and mounted at the forward end of thev inner wall of the stationary portion of the air intake duct to transfer hot gas to an airscrew spinner forming a rotating continuation of such inner wall. Suitable seals are provided between the adjacent relatively rotating surfaces of the manifold and spinner. In this construction, the hot gas is preferably delivered from the rotating spinner through ducts formed in fai-rings enclosing the airscrew blade roots to an outer annular fairing forming arotatng extension of the outer wall of the air inlet duct and outlets are provided in the leading edge of the annular fairing to permit the hot gas to ow into the air stream passing to the compressor. Outlets may also be provided in the leading and trailing edgesof the fairings enclosing the blade roots. In this mannen not lonly isvhot gas delivered to the air inlet duct but also the leading edges Yof the fairings 'are heated so as to reduce the possibiiity of ice-formation tl'i'eor. Further, h'o't .gas may' also b delivered 'to outlets in thennos'e of the spinner to reduce the possibility of iee-formation thereon.

"In another such arrangement, the `stationary manifold is inu'lt'd at the forward end bf the Outer Wall of the Stationary 'portion O the all* intake duct, and delivers hot gas to an outer annularV fairing carried by 'the `airscrew 'and forming a rtatrig extension the air intake duct, suitable 'seals being ,provided between the outlet and Walls. I-'t vgas outlets are provided in the leading edge of the outer annular fairing to deliver the not gas Ainto 'the air stream to the compressor. Hot gas "may falso be delivered from the annular `fairing into fa'r'in'gs enclosing the roots of the airscrew blades from 'which it may pass through suitable outlets into the air stream to the compressor, and if desired into a spinner enclosing the hub oi the air'screw. Here again the leading edges of the fairings -are heated to reduce the possibility of 'ice-*formation thereon.

The' hot gas is conveniently abstracted from the exhaust from the turbine, for example' by providing a scoop on the reaction cone of the exhaust assembly, the scoop being preferably arranged so that it may' occupy operative 'and non-operative positions.

Where the turbine drives counter-rotating airscrews, similar transfer means for the hot gas may be provided.l between the airscrew as has been described above for transferring hot Vgas from the stationary engine structure to the rotating air'screw structure.

A number of embodiments of this invention will now be described by way of example, reference being made in the description to the accor'npanying drawings 'in which:

Figure 1 is a general v elevation showing a gas turbine engine driving counter-rotating air-v screws,

Figure 2 is an enlarged viewlofthe -left-.hand

end of Figure 1 showing the anti-icing arrangement in more detail,y y

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figuf? '2, Figure li illustrates a modification of the antiicing arrangements; and

Figure 5 illustrates a further modification asi applied to an engine driving a single airscrew;y

Referring to Figure l, there .is illustratedagas-turbine engine l0 located in a nacelle l I 'andv` driving en aif'sfer. 91 Yamr@elflf'i 0f the wenn rotating type through a reduction gear I4. Thev outlets 26.

3 sets of blades of the counter-rotating airscrew are indicated at I2, I3.

The airscrews carry respectively portions IBa, I8b of a spinner forming a continuation of the inner dening wall I of the air-intake I6 to the engine and also carry respectively portions wa,

IBb of a hollow outer annular fairing forming aV continuation of the outer defining wall I1 of the air-intake. The space between the spinner and outer annular fairing therefore forms a rotating continuation 16a of the air-intake I6. The root portions I2a, I3a of the airscrews where they cross the space IBa are enclosed in fairings 2B, 2| respectively of aerofoil section, the fairings being so inclined as to assist in delivery of air to the engine or to effect zero work on the air entering the space IBa.

To materially reduce the possibility of iceformation on the parts forming the air-intake IB, IBa, or on the leading edges, fairings or compressor parts, hot gas is abstracted from the exhaust unit 22 of the engine I0 and delivered into the air-intake.

The hot gas may be abstracted in any convenient manner for instance the hot gas may be abstracted from the exhaust unit 22 in the manner set forth in the specification of British patent application No. 16,931/41.

The hot gas is conveyed to the forward end of the engine from the abstractor device by conduits 23 located within the nacelle II and is delivered to an annular manifold 24 formed in the leading edge of the nacelle I I.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the hot gas is delivered from the manifold 24 into the outer annular fairing I9a, I 9b and then into the aerofoil fairings 20, 2i from which the hot gas is fed into the air-intake IE, Ia, through outlets 25 in the trailing ends of the fairings 2D, 2|. Part of the hot gas is fed into the air-intake through outlets 23 in the leading end of the portion ISa of the outer annular fairing which therefore acts to distribute the hot gas to the air intake.

Referring more particularly t0 Figures 2l and 3, the leading edge of the nacelle II is formed with a pair of forwardly-directed lips 21 which enter between the rear ends of the inner and outer shells of the portion I9?) of the outer annular fairing, and the hot gas is delivered to the interior of this portion through the annular gap between the lips. Gas seals 34 are formed between the lips 21 and the shells of the portion |919 to avoid excessive escape of the hot gas.

A ring of guide blades 28 is provided within the portion |91) adjacent the lips 21 to direct the hot gas forwards through the interior of the fairing and a scoop formed by partitions 29, 3i) is provided to direct part of the hot gas to a port 3I through which the hot gas passes into the leading end of the aerofoil fairing 2| around the roots of the blades I3, The partitions 30 are suitably curved to enclose the blade roots 13a to protect them from the effects of the hot gas.

To deliver hot gas from the portion 19h into the portion ISa of the outer annular fairing, the leading edge of the portions I9b is formed with a pair of delivery lips 32 similar to the lips 21, suitable gas seals 33 being provided between the lips 32 and the inner and outer shells of the portion IBa. The hot gas flows forwardly through the portion I9a and then partly into the leading end of the fairings 20 around the'blade roots I2a through ports 35 and partly out through the It will be noted that the portions 4 I9a and I9b are rotated by the airscrews I2 and I3 and that portion |917 distributes hot gases to the three blade-root fairings 2I and to the portion I9a which distributes hot gases to the three blade-root fairings 26 and to the annular air intake duct I6. Accordingly, the portions 19a and i919 constitute rotating manifolds. A shield 3S is provided to protect the blade roots 12a from the effects of the hot gas.

The blade root fairings 20, 2l are formed along their leading edges with ducts 31 to receive the hot gases passing through the ports 3l, 35 and have double skins 38 enclosing the blade-roots and extending to their trailing edges so as to confine the hot gas fiow to the surfaces of the fairings.

The shells of the portions I9a, I9b are also Vformed as double-skinned structures, the outer skin being conveniently of aluminium and the inner skin of sheet steel, thereby avoiding eX- cessive loss of heat and avoiding damage to the surface skin by the hot gas. The portions I9a, I9b and spinner portions 18a, I8b may, if desired, be divided into two parts along the lines 39, 50 to simplify their assembly around the blades.

The arrangement above described can be readily applied to an engine driving a single airscrew. In this case there would be a single spinner portion and a single outer annular fairing.

In the alternative arrangement illustrated in Figure 4, instead of the hot gas passing from the manifold 25 into the outer annular fairing, it is fed into the spinner portions I8a, |319 and thence into the fairing 21B and into the portion I9a of the outer annular fairing.

For this purpose, the gas leaves the manifold 2 and iiows inwardly across the air-intake through fairings 4I to a xed annular manifold d2. The manifold 42 is located beyond the leading end of the nacelle II and projects slightly into the rearmost portion I8?) of the spinner, and this portion |81) carries within it at its rear end a rotating manifold 113l which closely surrounds the manifold 42. Suitable transfer openings d are provided in the abutting faces of these manifolds andrgas seals 14 are formed between the edges of these faces.

The hot gas passes from the manifold 43 through transfer pipes 43 accommodated .in the spinner portion Iib to a further annular manifold d1 carried by the portion i327 and -projecting slightly into the spinner portion 13a, and then passes into a manifold 43, carried by the portions 18a to closely surround the manifold d1, through openings d3 in the abutting faces of these manifolds. Seals 5i] are formed between the edges of the abutting faces of these manifolds.

From the manifold '58, part of the hot gas flows into the trailing edge of the fairing 20 and is delivered into the air flowing in the air-intake through the outlets 25. The remainder of the hot gas flows through transfer pipes 5I to a trough-like member 52 from which it iiows partly into the leading end of the fairing 2i! and then into an annular distributor chamber 53 formed in the leading edge of the portion 13a and out into the gas stream through outlets 54. The fairing 2G is provided with a pair of partitions 55, 56 which close off the leading and trailing portions of the fairing from the centre portion and the leading and trailing portions are conveniently of aY double-skinned construction to confine the gas flow to the surface of the fairing.` The remainder Vof the hot gas from the duct S2 flowsthrough pipes 5-'1 into a chamber 58' formed in the nose of the portion 18a andthen flows out into the air stream entering the airintake.

The construction illustrated in Figure v5 is similar to that 'of Figure 4 except that the Aengine `drives a single-rotating airscrew instead of an airscrew of the counter-rotating type. The air'- screw 6E is provided with a lspinner lil and Iouter annular fairing iii and fairings 2b enclose the blade roots ia. The hot Agas .passes to a manifold .12ct corresponding to the manifold 42 and then into a manifold l'i veo'rrespondingA `to the manifold iii, and is then distributed to fthe leading and trailing edges of the lfairi-I'ig 2Q, the leading edge of the fa-iring lilv and the nose `'o'f the spinner It in the same way as for the spinner portion la, the fairing 2D, and outer fairing portion 19a of Figure 4.

By mixing hot gas with the air entering the compressor as above described, the air temperature is raised and the possibility of ice-formation on the parts of the engine air-intake and on the struts extending across the air-intake to support auxiliary equipment, such as struts 6| (Figure l) supporting the reduction gear I4, is materially reduced. Furthermore the fairings are heated by the gas iiowing through them thereby reducing the possibility of ice-forming on them.

I claim:

1. For use with a turbine-propeller power-plant having an engine-compressor, a turbine system connected to receive working fluid compressed by said compressor and an annular air intake duct for the compressor; the combination of a propeller means adapted to be driven by the turbine system, a spinner carried by the propeller means and defining a rotatable continuation of the inner wall of the air intake duct, an annular fairing carried by the propeller means and spaced radially outwardly from the spinner and forming a rotatable continuation of the outer wall of the air intake duct, a stationary manifold supported by the air intake duct at the inner wall thereof, means supplying hot gas to the manifold, a first rotatable manifold circumposed on the stationary manifold and carried by the spinner, means communicating said manifolds, a second rotatable manifold carried by the spinner and spaced forward of the first rotatable manifold, means extending axially of the spinner connecting the first and second rotatable manifolds, said propeller means having root portions disposed transversely between the spinner and annular fairing, means enclosing said root portions, said second rotatable manifold being positioned in advance of said root portions enclosing means and having means communicating with said root portions enclosing means and with the air intake duct.

2. For use with a turbine-propeller power-plant having an engine-compressor, a turbine system connected to receive working fiuid compressed by said compressor and an annular air intake duct for the compressor; the combination of a propeller means adapted to be driven by the turbine system, a spinner carried bythe propeller means and defining a rotatable continuation of the inner wall of the air intake duct, an annular fairing carried by the propeller means and spaced radially outwardly from the spinner and forming a rotatable continuation of the outer wall of the air intake duct, a stationary manifold supported by the air intake duct at the inner wall thereon: means supplying hot gas tothe manifold, a .ii-rst rotatable hollow annulus cumposed on the stationary manifold -anclr-zar.-y ried by the spinner, means communicating `said manifold and sa-id -annul-us, ta second .rotatable hollow annulus carried by the .spinner and spacedforward of the .first rotatable annulus, .means extending axially `of the spinner connecting the first and second `rotatable .anni-ilus, 'saidfpropeller means having root portions disposed transversely between the spinner and .annular fairing, .means enclosing said root portions, saidsecond .rotatable annu-lus vbeing positioned in advance `of Asaid, root portions enclosing means and having .means communicating with .said root portions enclosing means and with the air intake duct, and means forwconveying at leastl .partof the gas :from the second annui-us to the interior of the leading end of the annular fairin'g andthe spinner and means said ends for fdiif'e'dting the gas mt the 4'air intake duct.- Y

3. A gas-turbine engine power-plant comprising an engine-compressor, a turbine system connected to receive working fluid compressed by said compressor, an annular air intake duct for said compressor, a propeller means connected to be driven by said turbine, mounted to rotate in front of said air-intake duct and having a set of blades with blade roots extending across said air intake duct, a stationary' manifold structure, means to supply hot gas to said stationary manifold structure, a rotating manifold structure carried for rotation by said propeller means, hot gas interconnecting means between said stationary manifold structure and said rotating manifold structure, hollow fairings extending across said air intake duct and surrounding said blade roots, hot gas connections between said rotating manifold and said hollow fairings for delivering the hot gas into the leading ends of said hollow fairings, and hot gas outlets in the trailing ends of said hollow fairings, said fairings having a double wall through which the hot gas flows to said outlets.

4. A power-plant as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blade-root fairings are formed with separated ducts in their leading and trailing ends and hot gas flows through both ducts to outlets into the air-intake.

5. A power-plant as claimed in claim 3, wherein said rotating manifold structure comprises inner and outer skins, and said delivery means comprises a pair of spaced lips on said stationary manifold structure projecting between said inner and outer skins.

6. A power-plant as claimed in claim 3, wherein said propeller means comprises counter-rotating blades in tandem, the rotating manifold structure is formed in two portions respectively rotating with the sets of counter-rotating blades, and means is provided to transfer hot gas from the rearmost portion to the forward portion.

7 A power-plant as claimed in claim 6, wherein both said portions comprise inner and outer skins, and the transfer means comprises a pair of spaced lips on one portion engaging between the inner and outer skins of the other portion.

8. A power-plant as claimed in claim 3,/wherein said duct has an inner stationary wall and an outer stationary wall, said propeller means has a second set of blades, the blades of the two sets rotating in opposite directions, said stationary manifold structure is formed in the leading edge of said outer wall, said rotating manifold structure forms a continuation of said outer Wall and 7 has a first portion carried for rotation by one of said sets of counter-rotating blades and a second portion carried for rotation by the other of said sets of counter-rotating blades, said hot gas interconnecting means is adapted to deliver hot gas from said stationary manifold structure to one of said portions, means are provided to deliver hot gas from said one of said portions to the other of said portions, hot gas connections are provided between said portions and said hollow fairings, and scoop means are provided in saidv one of said portions to guide hot gas to said hot gas connections between said one of said portions and said fairings.

ALBERT GEORGE ELLIOTT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Number Name Date Weiler Feb. 17, 1948 Palmatier Apr. 20, 1948 Palmatier Aug. 10, 1948 Saminons June 21, 1949 Sammons Sept. 20, 1949 Palmatier Apr. 11, 1950 Palmatier May 9, 1950 Palmatier Nov. 7, 1950 Dean July 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Sweden' July 29, 1941 France Nov. 12, 1938 France Jan. 15, 1942 

